Google has unveiled artificial intelligence software that books appointments over the phone on behalf of users by conducting voice-based conversations on their behalf.

Chief executive Sundar Pichair said that Google Duplex would launch as an “experiment” over the coming weeks.

The facility was unveiled at the firm’s annual IO developers conference.

Experts have said that if it works it could give the firm a major advantage over rival virtual assistants.

Pre-recorded demonstrations played back to the audience featured the software first booking a haircut and then making a restaurant reservation by speaking to two human employees.

One of the cases involved the Google Assistant virtual helper coping with a worker who seemed confused by straight-forward questions.

At no point did it identify itself as a machine.

“Done correctly, it will save time for people and generate a lot of value for businesses,” suggested Mr Pichai.

He added that in the first instant, the software would be used to call businesses to confirm their holiday opening times, and then automatically update the information on the pages Google provides for them.

“Hard to believe this was real,” commented Ben Bajaran, an analyst at the consultancy Creative Strategies after the demo.

“You can not underestimate the value consumers will see in these voice assistants.

“Apple cannot fall too far behind because this is the kind of thing I can see people switching platforms for.”

Image copyrightGoogle

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The Google Assistant’s voice-booking facility will only have a limited set of feature when it first launches

Other experts, however, remarked that people would have to be convinced to trust the software if it is to be widely adopted.

The company also announced a new version of its News tool was being launched.

A new Full Coverage feature will let users delve deeper into stories of their choice, providing headlines from different “trusted” sources, Q&As, social media posts and relevant timelines among other information.

Unlike many of firm’s services, the content will not be personalised.

“Having a productive conversation or debate requires everyone to have access to the same information,” Google said in blog that provides more detail.

Skip Twitter post by @daveyalba

The new Google News will use AI to classify articles into Opinion, Fact Checking and Analysis sections. That’s great—if the AI gets it right. 🤷 #io18

— Davey Alba (@daveyalba) May 8, 2018

End of Twitter post by @daveyalba

‘Careful and deliberate’

The Google IO event comes a week after Facebook held its own developers conference under the shadow of a data privacy scandal, which has prompted wider questions about the amount of personal information being gathered and processed by the tech industry.

Mr Pichai did not refer to the controversy directly, but briefly addressed consumers’ concerns.

“There are very real and important questions being raised about the impact of these advances and the role they will play in our lives,” he said towards the beginning of his presentation.

“So we know the path ahead needs to be navigated carefully and deliberately, and we feel a deep sense of responsibility to get this right.”

The firm dedicated a section of its presentation to what it referred to as Digital Wellbeing technologies.

These included the ability to schedule screen breaks on YouTube to encourage young users to avoid spending too long on the app at a time.

Parents also gain the ability to schedule when internet connectivity should be paused to some or all of the devices being used in a home.

Image copyrightGoogle

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Android will soon allow users to see how much time they are spending within different apps

And Android is to gain a new app dashboard that provide details about how much time users have spent using different services over the course of a day.

“We are delighted that Google has heard the call from stressed-out parents to create ways to limit and control their kids tech use and to find a better balance in their own digital lives,” Stephen Balkam, chief executive of the Family Online Safety Institute, told the BBC.

Analysis

Image copyrightGoogle

By Dave Lee, North America technology reporter

We’ve reached a tipping point in our use of computers, a time when the number of apps trying to get our attention with notifications and updates is making us many of us feel overwhelmed.

That wasn’t a mistake – many apps were aggressively designed to attract and lock in our attention. But maybe not for much longer.

Much of Google’s focus at IO this year is about what it dubbed Jomo – the “joy of missing out”.

This is to be welcomed.

Any move to reduce screen-time – particularly of youngsters – seems a good idea.

But you have to question whether the same companies that got us into this mess can save us from it.

Google’s business is still about attention – and the company knows full well that the addictive nature of YouTube won’t be affected by a prompt saying “take a break”.

That said, therapists often say that acknowledgment is the first stage of recovery, and Google’s moves in the area could be appreciated by many.

Other announcements included:

Gmail will be able to automatically complete sentences by adding several words at a time based on information collected about the user

Google Photos will propose Suggested Actions, including sending copies of an image to people it recognises in a shot, colourising black-and-white pictures, and converting photos of documents into PDFs

the Google Assistant virtual helper gains new six voices, can be set to encourage children to use the word “please”, and can handle follow-up requests without the need to say “hey Google” each time

Image copyrightGoogle

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Google’s smart speakers can now support more natural conversations

Android continues to dominate the handset market.

Google’s operating system powered 85.9% of all smartphones sold last year, according to research firm Gartner, marking a 1.1% gain on 2016.

Furthermore, it accounted for four out of every five mobile app downloads, according to analytics firm App Annie. Google’s own Play Store drove two out of every five smartphone and tablet app installations.